The System

"Inspector Johnson, one of the best detectives in England" asserted Mr. Hyde

Mr. Hyde was a leading deputy chief in London, he had a close friendship with Detective Inspector Johnson. Inspector Johnson, as Mr. Hyde said, was one of the best detectives in England. He has 35 years of experience and has solved around 50 cases, all with a successful outcome. But the case of Mrs. Roseline's stolen necklace still runs in his head, and he never forgets it.

It was the 13th of July when that happened. Inspector Johnson was in his cabin, sitting on his armchair, reading another Sherlock Holmes book, when all of a sudden, his phone rang. Inspector Johnson answered the call, the person on the other side was Mrs. Roseline. Mrs. Roseline was a close friend of Inspector Johnson's mother, Marie Johnson. Mrs. Roseline was in panic and shock.

"Is this Inspector Johnson?" she asked, trembling in shock

"Yes, I suppose you're Mrs. Roseline. What's the issue, Aunt?" the inspector replied

"Do you remember that 24-grand necklace I bought that day?"

"Yes aunt, I do, what happened to it?"

"It's missing, son!! I'm sure someone stole it!!" she cried

Inspector Johnson stood up from his chair, he was in shock too.

"Don't worry, aunt, we'll search for it and return it to you as soon as possible" the inspector said confidently

"Ok son" she ended the call, with a little faith

Inspector Johnson immediately stepped out of the cabin, calling his team for a meeting.

"Team! A 24-grand necklace has been stolen from Mrs. Rosaline, who lives in house no. 24, in Mors Street, next to the Grand Bakery. We need to go there right now!"

The team went in their jeep while Inspector Johnson followed in his Chevrolet Chevelle. They reached Mrs. Roseline's house and searched for the necklace, but it was nowhere to be found. Inspector Johnson questioned Mrs. Roseline.

"When was the last time you saw the necklace?" the inspector asked

"I had it with me, but kept it back, as I went to have a shower. After I returned, it was missing!"

Inspector Johnson knew that Mrs. Roseline didn't know anything and was innocent. At that time, Mrs. Roseline's son, Steve Johnson, reached home. Inspector Johnson came down to meet him.

"Why did you come home early, brother?" the inspector asked

"I heard that mom's necklace went missing, so I came back immediately"

"When did you leave the house, brother?"

"Around 7:30. I had my breakfast and left" replied Steve

All of a sudden, a cop from the inspector's team screamed

"Sir! We found something!"

Inspector Johnson ran into the house, and the cop showed him a button found in the cupboard where all the necklaces were kept. Inspector Johnson said in his mind "Checkmate". He immediately searched all the clothes in the house and finally, a button was lost from Steve's shirt! Inspector Johnson took the shirt and came out of the house, showing it to Steve

"Is this your shirt, Steve?" the inspector asked

"Yeah, what happened?"

"Well, we found a button in the cupboard where the necklace was kept, and this shirt, which belongs to you, has lost a button too!"

"So, you mean I'm the one who stole it?!" he asked with fear

"What else do you think I meant?"

The cops took hold of Steve and pushed him into the jeep. Mrs. Rosaline was in shock!

"Don't take my son!" she screamed from the back

Inspector Johnson was still in the house.

"Don't worry, he'll be back if he's innocent. Meanwhile, I still have some doubts, I need to check this house!"

Mrs. Rosaline nodded her head, and went to her room, crying. Inspector Johnson searched the house. He felt somebody else was also included in the crime. He saw footsteps in the backyard sand from a shoe that belonged to someone else. He also found fingerprints and very few blood stains on the bathroom walls. Inspector Johnson inferred something totally else after seeing this. This was not just a heist; it was a murder!

Inspector went to Mrs. Roseline's room; she was still crying.

"Was there anybody else living in this house or did anybody come to this house today?"

"Yeah... We have a maid named Marie. She came today to tell me that she won't be coming next week, and left"

"When did she leave?"

"Around 7:45

"And when did Steve leave?"

"Around 7:30"

"When did you go to have a shower?"

"Around 7:45"

Inspector Johnson inferred that someone else murdered Marie and stole the necklace, but he needed to prove it. He called his team back to the house, to find out to whom did the fingerprints belong. They checked whether it was Steve's fingerprint, but it didn't match, they then checked whether it was Mrs. Roseline's, but it still didn't match. Finally, they inferred that it was their maid, Marie, but when they contacted her, she didn't answer the call. They went to her house, just to find out that she was missing. Inspector Johnson was shocked, his theory had a high chance to work. All of a sudden, he got a call from Mr. Hyde.

"Great work, Johnson! You solved the case. Steve has accepted that he stole the necklace"

Inspector Johnson was speechless, he couldn't talk about his theory to Mr. Hyde, as the case had already reached its end.

On July 15th, Steve was presented in court. When Inspector Johnson saw him, he was shocked. It was clear that he was beaten up very badly to accept a crime he never committed. A tear rolled down the inspector's eyes. He could not bear seeing Steve in a condition like that.

"So, do you confess that you are the person who stole Mrs. Rosaline's necklace" the judge asked

"Yes" Steve replied

"Why did you do that?"

"I had a lot of financial issues, so I asked Mrs. Rosaline to give me the necklace so that I can sell it, but she did not agree. So, I had to steal it."

"Are you guilty?"

"Yes"

"Well, Mr. Steve John will get a jail sentence of 4 years, for being guilty of stealing Mrs. Rosaline's necklace"

Inspector Johnson could not do anything at that moment but for the last time, the inspector visited Mrs. Rosaline's house. He searched the entire backyard, where the footprints were found, and found a knife, fully filled with blood. He looked up at the town with no hope, as he knew that no one will ever be interested to solve this case... and it will remain unsolved.

The End